In automotive vehicles such as automobiles, pick-up trucks, recreational vehicles and the like, a problem frequently arises in finding sufficient storage space for various articles which are to be carried in the vehicle. Most automobiles and light trucks have glove compartments in them. These glove compartments, however, are of relatively limited capacity and are suitable only for storing small articles such as maps, flashlights and the like. Glove compartments are entirely unsuited for storage of large articles such as rifles, shotguns, and many tools. In addition, glove compartments usually are located at the right-hand end of the vehicle dashboard and are difficult to reach from the driver's seat. This is particularly true of pick-up trucks which have a relatively wide body width. If a flashlight or small fire extinguisher is placed in a conventional glove compartment, it usually is filled or nearly filled by such an article, thereby rendering storage of other items in the glove compartment difficult or impossible.
Some vehicles have additional pockets or compartments placed in the doors and, in the case of pick-up trucks, there may be limited storage behind the seat. Behind-the-seat storage, however, is inconvenient since usually it is necessary for the vehicles to be stopped and the driver and passenger to be out of the seat to permit pulling the back forward to gain access to anything stored behind it. Many recent model automobiles and trucks also incorporate tape players as part of the sound system, and it is necessary to find a storage location for tapes carried into the vehicle for playing in such players.
One result of this dearth of storage space is the placement of a variety of articles on the dashboard of the vehicle. This is unsightly, the sun can cause substantial damage to or actually destroy any tapes or heat-sensitive plastic articles placed in such a location, and articles placed on top of the dashboard create a distraction to the driver and interfere with the operation of the defrosters. To accommodate guns for hunters or law enforcement officers, it has been a common practice to locate a gun rack with mountings on opposite sides of the rear window of pick-up trucks and the like. This, however, has an obvious disadvantage of making the gun readily visible from the outside of the vehicles, thereby creating a tempting target for thieves when the vehicle is unattended. When a gun is in place on such a rack, it further interferes with vision through the rear window, thereby creating a safety hazard.
In an effort to provide additional and unobtrusive storage for vehicles, various attempts have been made in the past for mounting racks, storage units, or shelves adjacent the roof of the vehicles. Many such racks are custom designed cabinets or compartments for housing stereo components, CB radios and other electric gear. A wide variety of racks have been devised for storing tape cartridges to be played in the vehicle cartridge tape player.
Two patents which disclose general purpose shelves mounted adjacent the roof of a vehicle cab are the patents to Wilkinson, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,568,046, and Safreno, 2,929,539. The Wilkinson patent discloses a shelf which has a bowed edge to conform to the vehicle roof. This edge is used to prevent objects from sliding off the shelf and falling down between the shelf and the vehicle windshield. The shelf of the Wilkinson patent, therefore, must be tailored somewhat to the ceiling lines of the different vehicles in which it may be installed. The ends of the Wilkinson shelf are supported by means of a pair of brackets which have holes in them to permit attachment of the brackets at the sunvisor connection points in the vehicle. These brackets extend downwardly out from the main shelf portion and are visible when the shelf is connected in place. The shelf itself then extends upwardly to somewhat parallel the roof line directly adjacent the top edge of the windshield. As shown in Wilkinson, this shelf is capable of storing articles such as maps, books, papers and the like.
The shelf shown in the Safreno patent is an essentially horizontal shelf with specifically designed brackets on it for holding a rifle or similar firearms. Attachment of the shelf to the vehicle is made by means of a pair of downturned brackets at each end. These brackets have holes in them and are attached to the sidewalls of the vehicle by means of screws or bolts fastened into holes which are drilled into the vehicle body. The attaching brackets are visible when the shelf is in place.
Other efforts to provide increased storage in a vehicle by means of a shelf located at or adjacent the ceiling are disclosed in the patents to McInnes, U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,317, and Nelson, 3,856,192. The McInnes patent is a roof-top tape storage rack which is attached directly to the vehicle roof at a location above the upright portion of the seat of the vehicle (or the front seat of an automobile having front and rear seats). The mounting attachements are clearly visible and it is necessary to drill additional holes in the ceiling of the vehicle. The rack of McInnes is for the sole purpose of storing tape cartridges. The Nelson patent also discloses a tape cartridge storage rack mounted above the vehicle windshield header. It uses L-shaped mounting brackets on the ends which are attached to and carried by the inside upper front window moldings. This requires addition holes to be drilled in the vehicle roof or requires the moldings to be removed and replaced to clamp the brackets between them and the vehicle body. If, as is the case of many vehicles, these moldings are made of plastic, sufficient structural strength may not be present in them to permit a reliable installation of the rack, particularly if it is heavily loaded with tape cartridges.
Other storage cabinets, requiring substantially custom installation, are available for location above the dashboard of the vehicle adjacent the upper edge of its windshield. Since such storage cabinets, as so far are known to applicant, require custom design and fitting and, further, require the drilling of holes in the vehicle roof or body frame components, they are not universally adaptable and generally are not of the type which can be installed by the vehicle owner himself.
It is desirable to provide a vehicle shelf which has substantially concealed mountings, which does not require the drilling of any additional holes in the vehicle cab and which is capable of holding a variety of different kinds of items in a location adjacent the vehicle roof while, at the same time, being practical, simple to manufacture, and of relatively low cost.